Preserving giant fish in Idaho is a huge task

POCATELLO, Idaho — Maybe you've heard big fish tales before, and like many fish stories you'll shake your head in disbelief, but this is the story of the biggest fish, and it's no tale, it's all true.

Oh, man are they big. In the right habitat they can grow to more than 10 feet in length and weigh more than 1,000 pounds. This is the story of the white sturgeon, Acipenser Transmontanus in ichthyology parlance, and the efforts of Idaho Fish and Game, the College of Southern Idaho and the Idaho Aquaculture Association to halt its declining numbers here in Idaho, specifically in the Snake River.

There are a variety of sturgeon throughout the world, and they all share certain characteristics. They are the largest freshwater fish in the world.

Of the 29 species of sturgeon, white sturgeon can be found in the Columbia River Basin from the mouth upstream into Canada, from the Snake River upstream to Shoshone Falls and the Kootenai River to Kootenai Falls.

In 1956, Glenn Howard caught the largest white sturgeon in Idaho in the Snake River on a rod and reel at 394 pounds. There are anecdotal reports of sturgeon more than 1,500 pounds being pulled out of the Snake River at the beginning of the 20th century.

They are one of the oldest animals in the world. They were swimming these waters back when dinosaurs were walking the earth, 150 million to 250 million years ago. They are a cartilaginous fish, that is they have no skeleton. They can live to be 100 years old and they don't reach sexual maturity until they are at least 10 years old.

They are a bottom-dwelling fish whose diet includes fish, crayfish and mussels.

And the number of sturgeon worldwide is rapidly declining due to changes in their habitat.

Dams and water impoundment have played a large factor in their lowered numbers. Like many fish, sturgeon rely on good stream flow and cool water temperatures for spawning. The 12 dams along the Snake River create less than ideal spawning conditions for white sturgeon, resulting in declining sturgeon populations.

In Idaho, a cooperative venture begun in 1987 between Idaho Fish and Game, CSI and commercial fisheries has sought to remedy this situation. Wild sturgeon taken from the Snake River in 1987 were spawned in 1988.

One third of the brood stock was given to Fish and Game, one third was given to commercial aquaculture producers and one third was kept by CSI for research purposes.